HTML Links
HTML uses a hyperlink to link to another
document on the Web
The Anchor Tag and the Href Attribute
HTML uses the <a> (anchor) tag to create a
link to another document.
An anchor can point to any resource on the Web: an
HTML page, an image, a sound file, a movie, etc.
The syntax of creating an anchor:
<a href="url">Text to be displayed</a>
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The <a> tag is used to create an anchor to link
from, the href attribute is used to address the document
to link to, and the words between the open and close
of the anchor tag will be displayed as a hyperlink.
This anchor defines a link to free-html-scripts.com:
<a href="http://www.free-webmaster-resources.info/">
Visit free html scripts!</a>
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The line above will look like this in a browser:
Visit free
html scripts!
The Target Attribute
With the target attribute, you can define where
the linked document will be opened.
The line below will open the document in a new browser
window:
<a href="http://www.free-webmaster-resources.info/"
target="_blank">Visit free html scripts!</a>
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The Anchor Tag and the Name Attribute
The name attribute is used to create a named anchor.
When using named anchors we can create links that can
jump directly into a specified section on a page, instead
of letting the user scroll around to find what he/she
is looking for.
Syntax of a named anchor:
<a name="label">Text to be displayed</a>
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The name attribute is used to create a named anchor.
The name of the anchor can be any text you care to use.
The line below defines a named anchor:
<a name="tips">Read the Useful Tips section</a>
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You should notice that a named anchor does not display
in a special way.
To link to the named anchor you add a # sign and the
name of the anchor to the end of the URL, like this:
<a href="http://www.free-webmaster-resources.info/
html_links.asp#tips">Read the Useful Tips section</a>
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The line above will take the user straight to the text
within the anchor <a name="tips">...
</a> within the file "html_links.asp".
A hyperlink to the Useful Tips section from within
the file "html_links.asp" will use this syntax:
<a href="#tips">Useful Tips</a>
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Basic Notes - Useful Tips
Always add a trailing slash to subfolder references.
If you link like this: href="http://www.free-webmaster-resources.info/html",
you will generate two HTTP requests to the server, because
the server will add a slash to the address and create
a new request like this: href="http://www.free-webmaster-resources.info/html/"
Named anchors are often used to create "table of contents"
at the beginning of a large document. Each chapter within
the document is given a named anchor, and links to each
of these anchors are put at the top of the document.
If a browser cannot find a named anchor that
has been specified, it goes to the top of the document.
No error occurs.
Link Tags and Targets:
NN: Netscape, IE: Internet Explorer,
W3C: Web Standard
| Start Tag |
NN |
IE |
W3C |
Purpose |
| <a> |
3.0 |
3.0 |
3.2 |
Defines an anchor |
| Target Attributes |
Purpose |
| target="_blank" |
Loads the new document in a new blank
window |
| target="_self" |
Loads the new document in the same
window as the anchor (default) |
| target="_parent" |
Loads the new document in the parent
frame (when using frames) |
| target="_top" |
Loads the new document in the entire
browser window (nice way to break out of frames) |
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